Home » Sports » Basketball
Cavs bounce back, maul Raptors
Print Edition
LEBRON James scored 23 points then sat the fourth quarter, Kevin Love scored 25, and the Cavaliers unleashed tenacious defense on Toronto to regain control of the Eastern Conference finals with a 116-78 rout of the Raptors in Game 5 in Cleveland on Wednesday.
On their court in front of 20,000-plus screaming, towel-waving fans following two straight losses in Canada, the Cavaliers opened a 34-point lead in the first half, pushed it to 43 in the second and took a 3-2 series lead. They can clinch their second straight conference title and trip to the NBA finals with a win in Game 6 tomorrow in Toronto.
“We gotta come out from the beginning and that starts with the Big 3,” James said, referring to himself, Love and Kyrie Irving, who added 23 points. “We’ll be much better.”
It’s hard to imagine the Cavaliers being more in sync. They clicked at both ends in Game 5, handing the Raptors a beating that could linger into the offseason. After coming in with momentum and confidence, Toronto’s players left Quicken Loans Arena shaken and one loss from having their deepest playoff run stopped.
“They kicked our butts, bottom line,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “That’s been all three ballgames.”
James had eight assists and six rebounds in 31 minutes before checking out late in the third quarter with the Cavaliers up 37. He spent the fourth quarter resting on the bench while Cleveland’s reserves finished the romp.
At halftime, James, Irving and Love had outscored the Raptors 43-34. Cleveland has won its three games in the series by a combined 88 points, and won its last four over Toronto at home by 110.
DeMar DeRozan scored 14 and Kyle Lowry 13 for the Raptors, who were overwhelmed from the start. Bismack Biyombo had just four rebounds after getting 40 the past two games. The only positive for Toronto was center Jonas Valanciunas, who returned after missing eight straight games with a sprained right ankle. He scored nine points in 18 minutes.
Playing defense as if every possession was the game’s last, Cleveland held Toronto to 34 points in the opening half while building a 31-point halftime lead — the largest in conference finals history. Since their expansion arrival in 1993, the Raptors had never been down by 30 before in any game — regular or postseason — at halftime but they have rarely seen a defense like this either.
The Cavaliers were all over the court, swarming and stifling DeRozan and Lowry, who totaled 67 points in Game 4.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
